When you visit our site, we use services provided by Tempest, a product of Say Media, Inc., for content delivery and ad selection, including personalised digital ads. Say Media and its partners use technology such as cookies to customise your site experience, analyse website traffic, deliver content, and measure the effectiveness of advertisements.

By continuing to use this site, you consent to the use of cookies. To learn more about cookies and how to disable them, view our Cookie Policy.

By clicking I Agree on this screen you agree that Say Media and its partners may process your personal data for the purposes of information storage and access; personalisation; ad selection, delivery, and reporting; content selection, delivery and reporting; and measurement. For more information please view our Privacy Policy.

Unsent: 10 New Slang Terms for Climbing Gear

By Kevin Corrigan
, Jun 24, 2016

Unsent /un-sent/ 1. To have failed so badly on a route you had previously climbed that you negate your redpoint. 2. A humor column.

“Climbers speak their own language,” sighed my mom. She had just picked up my latest copy of Climbing and found it impenetrable. We go through this every month. It’s true, our sport has a lot of slang. “I picked up a couple gobies whipping on my proj,” sounds like nonsense to the general population. But there’s a serious lack of slang when it comes to climbing gear. In an effort to make our sport even less accessible, I’ve devised the 10 terms below. Add them to your vocabulary so you can be at the cutting edge of climber-speak.

1. Trust Fall

(Assisted-Braking Belay Device)

Example: “Just go for it and take the whip, Carl! The trust fall will catch you.”

2. Life Umbrella

(Spring-Loaded Camming Device)

Example: “Open a #2 life umbrella in the crack before the crux. This route is known to rain climbers.”

3. Pants Eaters

(Crampons)

Example: “We had a great weekend in Ouray, and my pants eaters only chomped three new holes in my $400 ’pon magnets.”